A defendant who shouted out “f*** the Queen” from the dock on the day of her state funeral was hit with a Contempt of Court charge.
Edson Nunes, 23, insulted the late Monarch when he was hauled to court last Monday for hurling racist abuse at a west London YMCA.
Uxbridge magistrates court records show he called out from the dock when appearing before District Judge Deborah Wright to say: “F*** the Queen, she’s a nasty f***ing b*tch”.
Nunes was charged on the spot with wilfully interrupting court proceedings or otherwise misbehaving in court, under the 1981 Contempt of Court Act.
“On September 19, 2022, (he) wilfully misbehaved in Uxbridge magistrates by using offensive language by saying ‘F*** the Queen’ she’s a nasty f***ing b*tch’”, the charge reads.
On Monday, the Queen was laid to rest after a state funeral and military procession through central London, with world leaders and Royals gathering at Westminster Abbey for the funeral.
In a separate case, Muhammad Khan, 28, has been charged with a public order offence after allegedly rushing at the Queen’s coffin as it lay in state and grabbing hold of the Royal Standard flag.
It is said Khan, from Wood Green, did not “accept that the Queen is dead”, and his case has been adjourned for medical assessments to take place.
Mark Hague, 52, was fined £120 for a public order offence after he was overheard in the queue saying he planned to approach the coffin “because she’s not dead”.
After his outburst in court, Nunes was held in custody overnight and appeared again in the dock on Tuesday when he apologised for the insults. The contempt charge was then dropped.
He was sentenced on Tuesday to 22 weeks in prison after pleading guilty to two charges of causing harassment, alarm or distress with racist abuse at the YMCA in Ealing on September 14 and 16, as well as using threatening, abusive, or insulting words.
The sentencing magistrates noted Nunes has a “flagrant disregard for people and their property”, and increased his sentence from 18 to 22 weeks due to the racist element of his offending.
The Contempt of Court Act charge permits magistrates to hold in custody anyone who deliberately disrupts court proceedings. They can be imprisoned for up to a month and fined a maximum of £2,500.
